More arrives at Cardinal Wolsey’s office, and the cardinal
asks More what took him so long. Wolsey presents More with a message to
be sent to the pope, explaining that since More seemed so opposed
to the dispatch, he should look it over. More diplomatically comments
on the style of the message, but Wolsey is more interested in what
More has to say about the message’s content. More mentions that
the message is addressed to a Cardinal Campeggio and not to the
English ambassador to Rome. Wolsey retorts that he personally appointed
a “ninny” to the office of ambassador expressly so that he could
write to the cardinal directly. Intrigued, More comments that Wolsey’s
maneuver is “devious,” and Wolsey bemoans what he calls More’s “plodding”
moralism.

Getting down to business, Wolsey states that King Henry
has just returned from a rendezvous with his mistress, Anne Boleyn.
According to Wolsey, Henry means to divorce his current wife, Catherine
of Aragón, in favor of Anne, who Henry suspects will be more successful
at providing him a male heir. Wolsey must now secure the pope’s authorization
of Henry’s divorce and remarriage, and he wants assurance that More
will not oppose the action. But More has already expressed his opinion
that the divorce should not be enacted without the pope’s willing
approval.

Wolsey conveys to More the potentially detrimental implications of
opposing Henry’s divorce. Wolsey claims that if the king does not produce
an heir to the throne, a change of dynasty or a bloody war of succession
will ensue. More is shaken but responds that he prays every day
that Catherine will conceive an heir. Wolsey is skeptical. More
reminds the cardinal that it took a papal dispensation, or exemption
to Catholic laws, to allow Henry and Catherine (who is Henry’s brother’s
widow) to marry in the first place. He wonders at the sensibility
or feasibility of discarding the pope’s first dispensation.

Wolsey, in turn, wonders at More’s willingness to put
his own private conscience above the interests of his country. But
More retorts that by listening to their own consciences, statesmen
avoid leading their country into chaos. Wolsey again bemoans More’s moralism.
Anticipating his own death, Wolsey wonders aloud who might replace
him as Lord Chancellor when he is gone. When Wolsey suggests Cromwell,
his secretary, More is shocked and says that he would rather do
it himself than see Cromwell appointed. Wolsey says More would need
to be more practical to fill the chancellor’s post and tells More
he should have been a cleric.

Summary: Scene three

Outside, More quibbles with the boatman over the fare
for a trip back to his home in Chelsea. Just then, Cromwell arrives
to remind the boatman that the fares are fixed, so he cannot charge
More a higher price just because of the late hour. Cromwell announces
that he is on his way to see the cardinal, and he guesses that More
has just come from the cardinal’s office. More admits as much, and
he says that the cardinal is not in the best mood. Cromwell pays
More an insincere compliment and heads in to see the cardinal.

As More prepares to leave, Signor Chapuys, the Spanish
ambassador, arrives and tries to wheedle information out of More
about his meeting with the cardinal. More simply replies that he
and the cardinal parted “amicably,” if not in agreement. The ambassador interprets
More’s comment to mean that More will oppose King Henry’s divorce
from Catherine, who is the king of Spain’s aunt. Chapuys announces
that his king would take personal offence if the divorce goes through.
With a nod and a wink (disregarded by More), the ambassador exits.
As More returns home in the boat, the boatman complains about fixed
fares and his wife’s weight.

How does Thomas More differ from Thomas Cromwell on religion and politics?
Why do the characters in the reading react as they do to Richard Rich reading Machiavelli and knowing Cromwell?
How does More differ from Wolsey in his opinion on the King’s divorce?
How does Thomas More feel towards Henry VIII?
How does Henry VIII try to persuade More to change his mind?
How does More resemble Henry VIII?
How do Cromwell’s words and actions with Richard Rich demonstrate his political and moral Machiavellianism?... Read more→

"He maintains that if he does not speak his opinion concerning his disapproval of the king’s intention to divorce his wife, then, according to the Bible, his silence will connote consent, not dissent."

This scene is from late in act 2, in his trial. But the argument about qui tacet consentire - silence gives consent - is not a matter of the Bible, but a matter of law: “’The maxim is “qui tacet consentire”…. “Silence Gives Consent”. If therefore you wish to construe what my silence “betokened”, you must construe tha